Dorner continues to elude officers; LAPD to reopen investigation that led to suspect's firing

A renegade ex-cop wanted for three murders eluded capture for a third day on Saturday, as Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck announced he will review the disciplinary proceedings that led to the fugitive's firing.

Beck told a local TV station that Christopher Dorner's case would be reviewed as a way to secure the public's trust in the agency.

"Dorner's allegations are about a police department that doesn't treat African Americans fairly, and I don't think that's true," Beck said. "And I want to make sure we don't lose this precious ground we've gained."

"That's the totality of the reason I will look at this investigation again. More important than the Dorner aspect is the community aspect. I'm not doing this to appease Dorner," he said.

Dorner claimed in an 11,000-word "manifesto" posted online that his career was undone by racist colleagues. The document vowed revenge against Beck and several other officers he held responsible for his firing in 2008.

"Any threat assessments you generate will be useless," the posting read. "I have the strength and benefits of being unpredictable, unconventional, and unforgiving."

During a televised news conference, Los Angeles Police Department Cmdr. Andrew Smith said authorities were protecting "more than 50 officers and families" out of concern they could be targeted by Dorner.

In addition, he said, the LAPD was joining with other Southern California police departments, as well as federal agencies, to create a task force dedicated to capturing Dorner.

Smith also said he hopes the weeklong manhunt for Dorner ends peacefully.

"No one else has to die," Smith said. "He can turn himself in anywhere."

Police have said they believe Dorner is carrying multiple weapons, including an assault-style rifle.

Dorner's rampage began a week ago in Irvine, where he is accused of fatally shooting Monica Quan and her finance.

Quan's father is a former LAPD captain who had represented Dorner during the proceedings that led to his termination. Department officials said Dorner had lied when he accused his training officer of kicking a suspect during an arrest.

On Wednesdsay night, just hours after authorities identified Dorner as a suspect in the double murder, police believe Dorner shot and grazed an LAPD officer in Corona and then used a rifle to ambush two Riverside police officers, killing one and seriously wounding the other.

A funeral for the slain officer, whose name has not been released because of concern for his family's safety, has been scheduled for Wednesday.

Authorities were drawn to the Big Bear area on Thursday, when Dorner's Nissan pickup truck was found burning on a rugged fire access road. Officials said Saturday they'd determined that the axle had snapped, and that he's set the vehicle ablaze.

Inside the burned-out truck, authorities said, they found an arsenal of weapons.

Tracks believed to be Dorner's were found in the area. One San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy said it appeared that Dorner had doubled-back in his own footprints and set off in another direction in order to confuse authorities.

The deputy, who demanded anonymity, also said that authorities discovered a makeshift shelter nearby - a cubby he likened to a duck blind - they believe may have been built by Dorner.

Over the next two days, SWAT teams and officers in cold-weather gear conducted door-to-door searches for Dorner, even breaking into locked vacation homes in the picturesque skir resort.

The operation was interrupted Friday when a blizzard moved in, but a break in the weather Saturday allowed two heat-sensing helicopters to resume their search for any new clues.

Officials said they plan to continue combing the Big Bear area today with about 50 officers, down from 125 at the height of the search.

While the hunt for Dorner has centered near Big Bear, other agencies have been looking for clues into his life and how long he may have been planning his ramgage.

On Friday, officers served a warrant at a house in La Palma that is owned by Dorner's mother and collected 10 bags of evidence. Police also colleged evidence from a Buena Park storage unit, but refused to say what they'd found.

In addition to his training with the LAPD, Dorner also received specialized training as a Navy Reservist, earning a rifle marksman ribbon and pistol expert medal. He was assigned to a naval undersea warfare unit and various aviation training units, according to military records.

He took leave from the LAPD for a six-month deployment to Bahrain in 2006 and 2007. An LAPD newsletter has carried a photo of Dorner with then-Chief Bill Bratton, who gave him a gold coin as a souvenir.

Feb. 1 was Dorner's last day with the Navy and also the day CNN's Anderson Cooper received a package that contained a note on it that read, in part, "I never lied." The coin that Bratton gave him, now riddled with bullet holes, was also in the package.

Despite Dorner's law-enforcement and military background, deputies searching for him Saturday in below-freezing temperatures said they now viewed him as just another murder suspect.

"He's no longer one of us," one deputy sadi. "Once someone targets a police officer and takes the life of a police offeicer, they are considered the most dangerous of all dangers.

"Because he has no regard for the life of a police officer means he has no regard for anyone else's life."